News: Hong Kong wants to open Disney territory

Posted at 5:31 PM EST (2231 GMT)

Mar. 16th, 2005 -- Hong Kong Disneyland is not even open, but the theme park is already facing pressure over expansion plans. Hong Kong officials say that a 130-acre site near the park, which Disney has the first choice to buy, should be set aside for other parks.

Disney's first-bid rights on the site last until 2019, and can be extended longer if the park draws in more then 8 million people. Officials opposed to giving such rights to Disney say that there are many other popular parks in the world and Hong Kong should be open to them all.

Eva Cheng, the tourism commissioner, said that granting Disney the privilege to buy the site was important in Disney's decision to build a park in Hong Kong.

See Forbes for more.